


White Rose Week 2018

by circamoore



Series: Weiss's Way [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Abortion, F/F, Implied Sexual Content, Pregnancy Kink, References to Sex Work, Sex Work, Wedding, Weddings, White Rose Week, White Rose Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-02 16:51:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15800673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/circamoore/pseuds/circamoore
Summary: My White Rose Week (tumblr) submissions from June. Mostly scenes from my Weiss's Way AU, also a couple from After That Day. Ruby/Weiss romance, implied sex, references to sex work & abortion. (underage warning just refers to Ruby as at vol 5 team reunion). Reordered to put the AUs together, Weiss's way first, ATD after.





	1. Weiss's Way: Pregnancy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 6: Kids/Pregnancy (or them as kids)  
> Weiss hadn't planned to have Ruby involved in this particular event in her life, but Ruby has a way of getting into everything she does. Abortion, non-explicit sexual references, references to sex work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like a bit of a cheat to be just writing scenes for my existing WiPs, but most of my new ideas tend to get stuck to my old stories. I hope it works stand-alone. This is a bit of an unusual take on the prompt, but I couldn't resist. It wont be to everyone's taste, since it is in the context of Weiss having done sex work in Atlas to make money before travelling to Mistral. I swear it is a lot "nicer" than you are probably thinking at this point. It is set in my "Weiss's Way" universe, immediately following "Telling Ruby". I've fast tracked this bit for WRW but it will be a while before it goes up on the archives since I'm still working on the story, and figuring out arrangement (eg whether I'll add more chapters to Telling Ruby, or if this will be part of the main story, most of which is still just notes).

The first cramp was mild, but more than enough to pull her back to reality. Ruby was still by her side, warm and real. When she had taken the pills it seemed like a good idea to get it out of the way, making a clean break from her other life now that they were reunited. She hadn't expected Ruby to come to her room, let alone still be there three hours later. She didn't want to send her away. It was literally the last thing she wanted to do, but there was no way she was going to be able to conceal this with Ruby right beside her.

"Um, Ruby? I need to go to the bathroom"

Ruby roused from her half dozing state  
"Kicking in, are they?"

"I- What?"

"The abortion pills. You left the bottle on the dresser, Snow White"

Weiss blushed at the use of her work alias. So many men had called her by that name, but she had never heard Ruby use it before.  
"Ruby, I-"

"I'll go if you want. But I'd rather stay" Ruby kissed her gently on the forehead.

Ruby had a way of making decisions easy  
"Stay" She relaxed as her partner settled back down beside her.

~o~

She was pretty sure they had stopped, and now she had a fresh pad. It was all over, bar a little bleeding. Some would say what she had done made her a killer. Killing a Schnee and a Faunus... maybe she really could please everyone, she mused.

Ruby had been there the whole time, holding her or holding her hand. Maybe it was in her head, but somehow it seemed so much easier with her there, easier than the last time doing it alone. She settled back down beside her dozing partner; she was going to be spending the night, there was no point sending her away now. It was late, early even, and the past few hours had tired them both out.

"Done?" Ruby asked sleepily

Weiss nodded, then settled down on the bed beside her.

"You know, there are things you can with with your Aura to prevent conception"

"I don't think that would work for me" Things she had done on impulse could look pretty twisted in hindsight. It was better than if she had brought up mundane methods. There were so many perfectly reasonable ways that Aura techniques could fail, some people couldn't concentrate during the act, others had trouble using their Aura internally, and a myriad of other reasons. No reason that Ruby should assume it was because-

"Because that is not what you really want?"

Weiss flinched. She almost wished her partner could be a little less perceptive; occasionally Ruby was so sharp it hurt. Despite being the cause of her distress, she still pulled Ruby closer and buried her face in the other girl's neck.  
"I'm sick" She wanted to explain, but she didn't even fully understand herself. Talking about her work had been one thing, people had sex all the time, doing it for money was a detail, but this was another level. There was the excitement of the risk, the satisfaction of knowing that her body could create life... no doubt a whole host of messed up psychological reasons, but mostly it just felt good to be "all in". Those explained how she got there, but not the strange thrill she felt missing her period, hyper-alert for the changes in her body. It had taken morning sickness to bring her down to reality last time.

"You're not!" Ruby wrapped her arm around Weiss and squeezed. "It isn't wrong to want-"

"I don't even know if I want a baby. Maybe it is just a weird fetish thing. Even if I did, I know I can't. I'm too young, I don't have anywhere to live, the world is a mess and we have to save it!" She drew a breath "And I'm not sure Father's day should involve a two page suspect list"

"You don't know what you want, so what? Everybody does weird stuff sometimes"

"Hmmm" Weiss was far from convinced.

"The first time I- I masturbated, it wasn't about a boy, it was over a weapons catalogue... I thought I was the biggest freak on the planet"

That got Weiss's attention. Although maybe it wasn't that big of a stretch... unless... Her eyes narrowed suspiciously  
"Was it the kind of catalogue that has half-naked women posing with the weapons?"

Ruby laughed uncomfortably and blushed  
"Yeah, it took me a little while but I eventually figured that one out"

"So you're saying I shouldn't overthink it?"

"Yeah, that. You are so smart"  
She kissed Weiss's cheek and then they just lay there in silence, drifting off to sleep.

Weiss was almost asleep when Ruby spoke again, quietly and slightly slurred, trailing off at the end.  
"Maybe- Maybe after, we could ... you ... really cute babies"

It was ridiculous, and if Ruby hadn't clearly been more than half asleep she would have scolded her for it. Still, she couldn't deny the way her heart jumped at the implications of "we".  
"You're insane" she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep with a smile on her lips.


	2. Weiss's Way: Snuggles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 4: Snuggles  
> It was probably the worst way for Yang to discover their relationship, but Weiss accepted that life with Ruby was always going to be unpredictable, if she lived that long. Sexual references, not explicit. Ruby underage since this is close to series timeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit tangential on the prompt, this comes a couple of days after the pregnancy scene previously posted. It should stand alone ok, will probably become part of Weiss's way, but for those who prefer a less controversial setting it also works (delete "...a lot of sex") after "For Her"/"Reading the Signs". Note at the end for those that feel they moved too fast.

Weiss sighed contentedly as she lay in the dimly lit room with Ruby's sleeping body pressed up against her. Something had woken her, but she found herself quickly distracted by the sheer bliss of her current situation.

"We finally had sex", she thought with a smile. No, that wasn't right. She'd had a lot of sex, this was something else. "We made love", she smiled more widely and planted a gentle kiss on Ruby's neck.

The dim light seemed to flicker, and she frowned. It was strange, they didn't have a fire. Suddenly alert she scanned the room and what she saw made her mouth go dry.  
"Yang" it was a strangled whisper. Not an ideal reunion. She didn't have a lot to go on, but it seemed likely the fiery blonde would not be thrilled by the idea of someone screwing her underage sister.

Yang was sitting on the second bed in the room. The conspicuously empty second bed. Her Aura was glowing brightly, but her eyes weren't red, which seemed like a good sign.  
"I just got in. Qrow said Ruby would be in here"

"Right", Weiss turned back to Ruby, careful to keep the sheet pulled up, since revealing that they were both naked didn't seem likely to improve the situation. She nudged her partner gently  
"Ruby" The younger girl just grunted and snuggled up against her more closely. The temptation to kiss her was difficult to resist..

"Ruby, wake up"

She didn't move much but this time she spoke  
"Weiss?"

Under the sheet she caressed Ruby's shoulder, waiting for her to regain alertness.

"Again?" she giggled "You're insatiable!" She didn't sound like she thought that was a bad thing, but Weiss wasn't sure how Yang would take it.

"Ruby, Yang is here"

"Yang?" Ruby finally lifted her head up to look around the room. "Yang!" Without warning she threw back the sheet, leapt out of bed, and embraced her sister. Weiss, exposed, hastily pulled on her nightdress.

"You just got here? How did you find us? How is dad? Your arm is cool, where did you get it? What did you do on the way?"

When there was finally a gap Yang spoke.  
"Woah. I just wanted to check in before I crashed. We can talk later, in the morning. Um, with clothes"

Ruby released Yang and looked down at herself  
"Oh. Right, yeah." She picked up her pyjamas from the floor and pulled them on before speaking again "Err, Weiss and me are together now"

"Really?" Yang raised her eyebrows and made a point of looking at Weiss sitting on the unmade bed.

"I really like her and she really likes me and we-"

"It's ok Rubes, I'm not upset"

Ruby let out a sigh of relief  
"Oh good, because I really need to pee" with an apologetic glance at Weiss she dashed from the room.

Weiss looked nervously at Yang. She feared some overprotective sister threats may be coming her way.  
"I love her" She felt a little guilty at saying the words. Not that they weren't entirely true, but that she hadn't yet managed to say them to Ruby directly.

"You came back to her"

There was a strange intensity to her words and Weiss sensed that she wasn't just thinking of her and Ruby. The unspoken faunus NOT in the room. She shifted a little uncomfortably... she'd come to where the fight was, though she had never doubted that was were Ruby would be too.

"You've been here beside her"

The "finally" of her earlier musings was literally 48 hours after their reunion, and only because things kept getting in the way. Weiss decided that little detail could wait. Especially since Yang had stood up and was now looming over her.

"You will be there for her, that is all I need to know" She bent over and enveloped Weiss in a crushing hug "It's good to see you, Princess"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've done quite a lot of Yang's emotional issues making her over-protective, so I wanted to do a little of the opposite: being over-accepting. As a rule I'm not a great fan of the "leap into bed" genre, but Ruby and Weiss have spent a lot of time building trust before it was romantic, and as a partnership they are very much "doers", and that is even before the perilous "could die tomorrow" situation.


	3. Weiss's Way: Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 8: Free Day!  
> Weiss Schnee wasn't the sort of person who would propose marriage because she had just had a really great... moment. But where Ruby Rose is involved, she just might be. Underage Ruby. Non-explicit, but some pretty blatant implication of "off-screen" sexual activity, if you have a dirty mind (you know you do).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Wedding seemed like a good way to end the week (plus I didn't get around to it for last year's WRW!). Weiss's Way AU, but for context see previous WRW posts (Pregnancy, Snuggles). I have skipped a few scenes to get here that would more fully explain Weiss's conviction, to give you a bit of SFW-ish closure, since many people may not read the final story (if/when done) due to content.

Weiss lay back on the bed gathering herself; no small task considering what she had just experienced.

Ruby just lay beside her with a faint smile on her lips, looking more than a little pleased with herself at having brought her lover so completely undone.

Justifiably pleased with herself, Weiss had to admit. Ruby was a fast learner, and very, very good with her hands, but it wasn't just her skilful touch that filled her heart, nor limitless love in those grey eyes. Her words were quiet and simple, but they were magic. Revealing, accepting, praising. Ruby could bring out the deepest secret parts of her soul and make her love them. She could harness her every desire and make her whole soul sing.

Staring into those eyes as she finally came down to earth, she moved in closer, brushing aside Ruby's move to clean her lips, and kissed her deeply, savouring the extra flavours she found there as tangible evidence of what had come before.

There were no words for what she felt, but she found some others.  
"Marry me!"

Ruby was briefly shocked, but she recovered with a laugh  
"That good, huh?"

Weiss smiled. Ruby was giving her an out. Always so considerate.  
"It was. But I am serious. Before I go back to Atlas I want-" she hesitated. She was sure of her feelings, but this was big. It was easy to forget how young Ruby really was, she didn't want to rush her into this "I would like it if- if we were official. So everyone would know."

The silence was deafening. Ruby was just lying there frowning slightly. Ruby was meant to be the impulsive one, and this was crazy even by her standards.

"I'm sorry. It was just a- a feeling. I shouldn't have-"

"No!" Ruby grimaced, "I mean yes. I mean, um" She grinned sheepishly, "I was trying to remember what the law was here, and in Vale and Atlas, I'm kinda out of my depth" she admitted. "But we should totally try, find out if we can"

Weiss felt an undefinable wave of emotion pass though her. I'm impulsive, so she tries to be responsible. It only made the feeling stronger.  
"Atlas should work. I'm eighteen, I think sixteen is ok if a guardian signs off, but either way," she smiled apologetically "Atlas law isn't too picky about what happens to foreigners"

"I saw a documentary about child brides in Mistral, so I think we are good here. I guess Qrow or Yang would know about Vale, but we don't have to worry about that until we go back there, anyway"

"It's how I feel, but it isn't just a feeling" Weiss confessed.

"Your father, right? You would become legally independent?" She didn't say "your dad", she knew the difference.

Unsaid was that having Ruby as a beneficiary should make Weiss's father give up on any ideas of having her assassinated.  
"You would get all the benefits of Atlas citizenship too" 

"As your wife?" Ruby smiled.

"As my wife, and me as yours" Weiss felt giddy. "So we are going to do this?"

"Tomorrow, before we go" Ruby settled herself on the bed closing her eyes, apparently happy to end the day on a high note.

"Nope" Weiss kissed her on the lips, "No way. You don't get to sleep after that," she started moving downwards, kissing Ruby's collarbone as she passed "not... yet."

~o~

Ruby came up beside Weiss as she stood talking to Qrow and put her arm around her shoulders.  
"He's not being disgusting, is he?"

"Hey, standing right here!"

"No, nothing like that" Weiss smiled at Ruby's protectiveness.

"Uncle Qrow, you know the magistrate here, right?"

Qrow frowned  
"He owes me a favour, what do you want?"

~o~

"It is just some paperwork we need to do before we leave"

Yang looked nervously around the courthouse.  
"Weiss isn't in trouble is she? For- for the uh, stuff that she did?"

"That is legal here, Yang. This is something else, something me and her are doing together"

"But why do we all need to watch you do it? I don't understand"

Ruby gave her big sister an enigmatic smile and ushered her into one of the seats arrayed in the room, set a few metres back from the desk at the front.  
"You will"

~o~

The magistrate was an overweight, balding, middle-aged man with glasses, quite the cliche, but he seemed pleasant enough. He shuffled the papers on his desk absently and bought their completed form in front of him, inspecting it carefully.  
"You have two witnesses?"

Qrow held up his hand in a stop gesture.  
"I told you, you are on your own with this. Your father would kill me, will probably kill me anyway" He stared at the couple for a moment, Ruby stared steadily back. "Damn, you are just like your mother" he sighed resignedly, "Ok, I'll do it"

Ruby rewarded him with a bright smile. She looked to their audience of confused friends.  
"Ren could you come up here?"

The green-clad ninja looked puzzled, but obeyed the request anyway. Arriving at the desk he glanced at the form.  
"Oh!"

"So you will witness?"

He nodded.  
"I would be honoured"

"Let's get this show on the road" The magistrate smiled cheerfully. He looked at Weiss "Name and place of residence?"

"Weiss Schnee, Atlas"

"And you?"

"Ruby Rose, from Vale, um Patch"

He nodded checking the details against the form.  
"Weiss Schnee, do you freely enter into this contract declaring that you are free of encumbrances?"

"I do"

"Ruby Rose, do you freely enter into this contract declaring that you are free of encumbrances?"

"Absolutely! I mean, yes, I do"

"Now, if the witnesses could confirm?" He slid the form to Qrow who quickly scrawled his details and signed, before handing it to Ren who just as quickly, but much more neatly, completed his.

"Excellent!" He stamped the completed form and smiled widely.

"The certified copies? I need to register this as soon as we land" Weiss smiled apologetically.

"Of course!" He rang for an assistant "It should only take a few minutes"

He stood up, and shook Ruby's hand, then Weiss's  
"Congratulations on your union! Weddings are my favourite part of the job!"

"WHAAAT!?" Yang exploded out of her chair, entirely drowning out Nora's "Yay!"

At least they would have plenty to talk about on the trip, Weiss reflected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my headcanon is that since it is a coalition of settlements Mistral's legal system would have evolved from the needs of traders and merchants so would be very contract oriented. Contracts are between the parties, so no inviting third parties to object. Marriage practice would vary enough between kingdoms that Yang didn't instantly recognise it (plus, why would she even suspect it). We all like to hope that the motives behind marriage will be pure and timeless, but inevitably the actual timing will be a practical decision. Ruby and Weiss are very practical. What did Ruby do just before this? You'll have to wait for the full story or use your imagination, dream! Bye!


	4. After That Day: Snuggle-Struggle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 3: Struggle (emotions/past/trauma)  
> While travelling to Atlas for the Vytal Festival, Ruby and Weiss take advantage of their enforced down time to do some studying. A playful motivational technique leads them to get a little off-topic. Heavy make-out session, implied sex, amused Blake, uncomfortable Yang. After that Day AU (Beacon didn't fall). Bonus: useless lesbian Velvet crushing on Glynda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very loose on the prompt. Ruby and Weiss are both quite competitive, I feel like the "Snuggle-Struggle" (playful teasing & competition to be on top) is an iconic WhiteRose theme so I wanted to put up something for it (more excuses at the end). I have this headcanon that since Vale hosted the Vytal Festival in the fall, Atlas would host it in winter, so Ruby would be 18 (a little over 2 years after Vol 3). This is set shortly before "Winter Sister"

"Vytal." Ruby rolled her eyes as she answered, "Too easy!" Nevertheless, she opened her mouth for her reward.

Weiss carefully selected the smaller of the two remaining strawberries from the punnet, her slender fingers expertly removing the hull before popping the fruit into her partner's mouth.

At the beginning it had seemed like an innocent study technique to fill in the time on their flight to Atlas for the festival, but at some point the mood had shifted. The quiz difficulty had been slipping while the feeding became more elaborate. Fruit feeding was definitely a treat, Blake reflected; the question was, a treat for whom? She watched the older girl's cheeks flush, and her eyes darken as Ruby captured her wrist, keeping her hand still while she licked every trace of flavour from the delicate digits.

Yang hunched closer over her book, trying to ignore the blatant display.

Having satisfied herself that there was no trace of fruit remaining, Ruby released her partner's hand turning her attention to the punnet, then to the white-haired girl.  
"Last one"

"Hmm" Weiss hummed, "No more questions." She smiled at her girlfriend and picked up the bright red morsel, removing the hull with exaggerated care separating it slowly and precisely while Ruby watched, wrapt.

The faunus was impressed, she really hadn't thought it was possible to strip-tease fruit.

Having finally completed the preparation Weiss moved the last treat towards Ruby's eagerly opened mouth, feinting and dodging as the eager girl lunged after the treat. Suddenly, in one smooth movement she popped it into her own mouth, holding her lips closed in a defiant smirk.

With a growl the scythe-wielder tackled her teasing girlfriend, pushing her down on the bench, her lips working eagerly against the closed ones to gain access to the stolen treasure.

Blake made a careful assessment of her own partner. She would have liked to suggest a little bonding of their own, but it didn't look good. If the blonde hunched any closer she would be climbing inside that book. Turning her attention back in response to a quiet victorious noise from Ruby, she surmised that the custody dispute had been resolved, since it seemed unlikely that the strawberry could stand up to the vigour of their current activity. If there was a case to be made for kissing to be considered as a form of oral sex, they where making it.

Yang closed her book with a snap and abruptly stood up.  
"We should be near Solitas now, would you like to look at the view?" She strode to the door and opened it, never once looking across the room. Blake followed more slowly.

~o~

The view as they came near the coastline was pretty amazing, the expanse of ocean now bounded by the cold grey coast with a line of white breaking waves marking the boundary. The watched as the line grew closer minute by minute. Soon they would arrive in Atlas.

"Checking the view, or getting away from the lovefest?" Velvet was leaning against the bulkhead with a friendly smile on her face.

"Yeah." Blake didn't bother choosing an option.

Yang grinned at their friend.  
"I thought we wouldn't be seeing you once you got in a cabin alone with Glynda. Trouble in paradise?"

Velvet flushed at the teasing reference to her worst-kept secret crush.  
"She wanted to freshen up and change clothes before we land"

"We should get ready too" Yang started to move, then stopped again, glancing nervously at the door to RWBY's cabin.

Velvet followed her gaze and her ears straightened and focused. She looked thoughtful.  
"You might want to leave it a little longer" She shared a look with Blake who had also pointed her ears in that direction.

Yang nodded  
"Give them a little time to finish studying"

"And put their clothes back on" Velvet added. She could give as good as she got. It was a state of the art Atlas ship, almost silent in level flight. She stood there for a while ears moving slightly as she virtually swept around the rest of the ship.

Blake followed her example, it was remarkable how much she could hear. She noticed Velvet had stopped scanning and was focused in the direction of the cabin she had been sharing with Glynda with a dreamy look on her face. Blake strained but she couldn't hear any talking. Maybe some slight sounds of movement. She smiled evilly.  
"You're looking... chipper, Velvet" she emphasised the word carefully.

The rabbit faunus jumped, and blushed intensely  
"Z-zipper? I-I didn't hear any zipper!"

Blake watched Yang's delighted laughter with a smile. It had been a slightly mean trick, but totally worth it to see Yang happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed this was only half WR. I was actually hoping to write something more intense & closely focused on W/R for this, but procrastinated and ran out of time (I discovered Killing Eve was available on iView, I'm only human). I actually wrote most of this months ago when @rwbymemes was looking for more WR fluff and I realised how little I'd published (much still lying around on my hard disk). Quickly dusted off and finished for WRW, I'm still not entirely happy with the chemistry... posting it will probably make me suddenly realise how to fix it! Eventually this scene will probably be used as the opening for a Blake pov sister piece to the Winter pov "Winter Sister".  
> Confession: It sort of happened accidentally when I was spitballing ideas in AtD, but now I have seen Velvet/Glynda I can't get it out of my head... WR is my OTP, but Teacher's Pet is my number one crackship.


	5. After That Day: Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 7: Trust  
> Ruby and Weiss trust each other absolutely. They will fight side by side as long as they can, and, should the unthinkable happen, they trust each other to do what needs to be done. Death scene... sort of ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little glimpse into a part of my After that Day AU that probably wont make it into any of the final stories (the plan with ATD is R&W's story told from the perspective of those around them), but I thought I'd pull it out for White Rose Week. Somewhat after "A Night in Normal", so approx. 2 years after they graduated from Beacon. It isn't quite as dark as it first appears.

Trust your partner to catch you when you fall. Trust them with your life. Trust them to carry on when you cannot.

~o~

Weiss knelt on the ground holding Ruby in her arms. They had known from the beginning that one day it might come to this, even discussed it.

It didn't show much against Ruby's black and red colour scheme, but Weiss could feel the hot wetness as the gushing blood soaked into her own clothing.

Ruby's lips moved as she tried but failed to form the words. Nodding in understanding Weiss bent over and briefly pressed her lips to Ruby's forehead.  
"Ruby, I love you so much" she breathed as she pulled away.

She watched helplessly as the light faded from silver eyes, frowning in annoyance as fat droplets of water started falling on Ruby's upturned face. She couldn't seem to see clearly right now, but there hadn't been any clouds a few minutes ago. She knew what Ruby had tried to say, she had said it when they had made the promise so many years before. Even then they had known it might end like this. It didn't make it any easier.  
"I thought it would be me"

~o~

Yang grinned.  
"You guys are amazing. Watching you fight, the way you work together. You just throw yourself out there like one big trust exercise"

Ruby cast an affectionate glance at her partner.  
"Weiss will always have my back"

~o~

"Ruby you have to stop, this is wrong"

"It is the way it has to be, Weiss"

"Please! Remember Beacon, remember what we believed"

"Never give up hope, huh?" Ruby turned away. "You can try all you want, you wont change my mind-" she gasped quietly, staring in shock at the tip of the blade that had just stabbed though her chest from behind.

"I know" Weiss agreed sadly, pulling the blade out again with a swift movement before discarding it to catch Ruby as she collapsed.

It was a comfort really. She'd changed. The old Ruby would have understood what she needed to do, but this one hadn't expected it at all. 

~o~

Power corrupts, but sometimes you have to take the chance. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

"I don't ever want to fight you Weiss. If it comes to that, make sure I don't see it coming"

"I-" Weiss hesitated, there wasn't really a comeback for that, "I promise, but you too, ok?"

"Definitely. Um, if you know... well, I probably won't be able to say it so-" Ruby took her partner's hands in her own and looked her in the eyes, saying the words she would struggle to form years later.  
"Thank you"

~o~

Before sight or sound or smell she could sense it. Ruby was still alive, Ruby was beside her. The emotional pain she had been feeling began to quickly melt away. She became aware of stench of burning flesh next. There had been a fight. The body of their defeated opponent still lay there, smoking slightly. The interior of the ancient temple lay in ruins and, here and there, shafts of sunlight entered though the holes recently sliced though the massive stone walls by stray attacks.

It had been a near thing; the old man had been powerful, many times more powerful than a human had any right to be. Two years ago, or even one, they might not have won, but every victory had made them stronger. They had won too many times, killed too many times to go down easily. They'd had to push their power and abilities to their absolute, terrifying, limits to finally beat him. They had sliced though him, body and soul, tasting the stench his madness as he died, along with a hint of something else. Bitter, hard-fought victory, then whatever the hell that was. She finally looked at Ruby, and saw reflected in her eyes the same emotional whiplash she was feeling herself.

Ruby spoke first, with a wry smile.  
"I guess you even know how to die pretty"

She smiled at the unorthodox compliment. So, they'd had complimentary visions.  
"You too. It was touching. You said 'thank you', just like when we promised"

"Twice is better than none, that's just good manners."

Weiss allowed herself a quiet laugh.  
"It was a test." Sacrificing what was most precious to her, for the greater good. Because ripping her own heart out literally wouldn't have been hard enough. "To see if we really would do it-" 

Ruby finished the thought.  
"- and to find out if having lived it, we would be willing to do it again." Speaking more loudly, she seemed address the empty chamber "We passed. Now what?"


End file.
